


Black Depth

by wrorus



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Gen, More characters to come, Zombie Apocalypse, survivor!Kuroko, tons of gore and death maybe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-22 13:47:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2509976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrorus/pseuds/wrorus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You may hide, but you cannot run from them. Do not sympathize for they do not feel. Do not fear, because it is a useless emotion. Make one mistake and you will turn into one of them. Hesitating to smash their heads or to pull the trigger will cause you your life. To survive, you must be cruel. Kill them and live. [zombie apocalypse AU]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mournful Monday

**Author's Note:**

> Now I know I'm supposed to update other stuff instead of attempting another multi-chapter series, but I think I'm going to write whatever is on my mind first, so I don't forget later. More Kuroko-centric AUs on the way, since this isn't going to be the last.
> 
> Besides, every fandom needs a zombie apocalypse AU.
> 
> Another note; this is an AU where there's no GoM and basketball. All of them have never met before. Just so you know.
> 
> /Also posted on ffnet/

* * *

Just a few weeks ago, everything was fine and normal. Tokyo was as busy as usual in the morning to evening, with all the shops opened to potential customers, the smell of food from street vendors, the air getting less colder as spring approaches, loud chatter and the occasional laughter with people walking on its streets. Schoolgirls, be they in middle or high school, walked together in groups, chatting away at the latest fashion trends, bragging about how cool or handsome their boyfriends were, while trudging along the familiar roads with an even, synchronized pace as their shoes tapped and tapped away. School boys were either hanging out at the dark alleyways or wasting their time at the local arcades while the more delinquent ones were vandalizing walls with spray paint, attempting to create modern day masterpieces or simply leaving a mark to gloat about later, no matter how inane it was. Working adults, like businessmen and businesswomen were strolling by cheap food places to eat whatever depending on the time or simply walking to the subway station to get wherever they needed to be.

Tokyo at night was loud and bright. The music from clubs and bars were bursting from their stereos, the giggling of prostitutes and the occasional beeping from cars contributed to the atmosphere, creating noise that was only familiar in this version of Tokyo. The neon signs and the blinking traffic lights were the stars of the main city, because people who lived in the city didn't need real stars to see beauty, because they did not care if beauty was real or not. There were women who only worked at night with nothing but a benign smile of lipstick and a short, skimpy dress, drunk businessmen who were enjoying their downtime and shady people who were looking for prey on the streets, as if those who are not of adult age did not exist when the moon rose. Night Tokyo was run by the wild nightlife. Compared to its counterpart, night Tokyo was boisterous, but equally dark where crime ran amok.

Back then, whichever version of Tokyo it was, was fine and normal. Ordinary and expected. A city everyone found conventional and accustomed to.

But that was a few weeks ago.

Now, Tokyo was overrun.

There were rotting corpses who hungered for living flesh everywhere and not one normal human in sight.

.

.

Kuroko Tetsuya was similar to how the city was.

From mornings to evenings, he was a boring high school student nearing his last year, working to the bone for good results to get into Tokyo University to get his teaching degree. He was someone who could count friends with both hand and still have a finger or two left. He was average, maintained his school ranking and was never an honor student. At night, he was one of the brave ones who wandered the Tokyo streets to get a peace of mind, observing the differences of peoples behavior and ventured into clubs unnoticed. Of course, he never did anything illegal, but it was beyond him why people pay to get deaf and gain chances of contracting sexual diseases because they've never heard of protection.

Either way, he was just tired and bored. There was no in-between and life never seemed so unappealing before.

Maybe it was just because his best friend decided to move back to America after being offered a sports scholarship, or that he never kept in contact with his childhood friend anymore. Maybe it was because the remaining friends he had were all his upperclassmen from clubs, who had already graduated a year ago and were busy with their college or work lives. Maybe it was because he had no one his age to talk to, because they were too absorbed in their own group of friends. Maybe it was because he didn't have friends anymore, because all of them were gone and he couldn't do anything about it. Maybe it was because he was constantly invisible to the human eye and could not be noticed enough to connect with others.

Maybe it was because he didn't have much will anymore to do anything.

He was tired and bored and he couldn't do anything about it.

Lonely was probably the right word for his current state, but it wasn't correct either. He still talked with his best friend online and he was used to the isolated the universe seemed bent on cursing him with. It wasn't right either, because there were so many people around him that it could never be counted as "lonely". Besides, he was okay with being alone. It isn't as bad as others like to say, because he wasn't the type to crave for socializing or for others.

Life was tired and boring, but it was okay. He would get into Tokyo University, make friends there, get his teaching degree for Japanese Literature, become a middle school teacher or a preschool teacher because he was good with children and have a good life. There, that was his solid plan after high school and it was better than his peers who were still scratching their heads in confusion when handed with their career applications.

Nothing could go wrong. Everything was planned to perfection. He would be okay and he would be fine. He wasn't going to give up on life.

Too bad everything went straight down to hell and him, including everyone in Japan, were all screwed over in more ways than one by the universe because they were all destined to die very, very soon at the claws and jaws of the dead.

It all started with a tearful reunion and an ear-splitting scream.

.

.

If you asked anyone about Kuroko Tetsuya, eighteen years of age and senior of Seirin High, a majority of them would say that they've never heard of him before or that he was a very unassuming fellow who blended into the background with no ability to stand out in a crowd, despite his hair color. If you asked those who have partnered with him in group assignments or cleaning duties, they would say he is a mild-mannered, polite and nice person. As said before, he was average, thus others had average opinions of him too, which were neither positive or negative.

Due to Kuroko's nature, there were quite a few who respected and acknowledged him. Iwasaki Kaho was one of the few and someone who had partnered with Kuroko before for cleaning duty because her friend ditched their shared obligation for the sake of a boyfriend. She gave him an invitation to her father's passing in an empty corridor connected to the library after school, after fruitless attempts of searching and had used what little information she knew of to find him. It may seem a little rude to her own family invite a near stranger to a loved one's funeral, but for Iwasaki, she looked up to Kuroko and saw him as a friend, even if he didn't know it. It meant everything for her for Kuroko to attend her father's funeral to give a few nice words, mourn and sit through the entire process.

It was wrong of her to doubt Kuroko's attendance to said occasion because it would go against Kuroko's nature to decline it. It was already rude of him to attend such a private affair, despite Iwasaki's insistence, and if it made Iwasaki happy, he would do everything he can to help her gain closure.

So on a late afternoon of Monday, he came to the Iwasaki residence in his formal black suit with a white shirt, a black tie and equally black shoes, knocked on the door and gave the elderly woman who answered his knocks his letter of invitation. She accepted him into their home and Kuroko tilted his head slightly at her polite gesture, while noting that her eyes were red-rimmed and glassy, her wrinkles were terribly pronounced and her stature was filled with stress. He would know her feeling of lost; he had lost his grandmother when he was a young child and lost his parents in a plane accident just a year ago.

Everything else was routine to him. The wake was first. The priest said his prayers, everyone mourned in silence and there were eulogies from close friends and family. He listened to everything solemnly, as everyone was still hurt, angry and sad from the sudden passing.

The last tribute were reserved for the dead man's closest family, which was his wife, his son and his daughter. His wife had said her tearful goodbyes and how terrible it was to be left alone, but she gave positive words of her husband when he was alive. His son, who was someone Kuroko recognized as the local clinic's doctor, gave his words as well, despite being brief and a little cold about it. It could be due to a father and son relationship that was distant at best or a coping mechanism, but that wasn't Kuroko's problem to dig into. The wounds were still fresh after all, no need to vigorously rub salt into it.

The last was his classmate, Iwasaki Kaho.

"H-he... was a good father. Loved okaa-san, nii-san and me fairly and never n-neglected to spend t-t... time with us." she sniffled and continuously wiped her eyes to keep the tears away. "He... o-otou-san was the best father anyone could ask for and there's s-still so, so much I want to do with him... and say to him..."

Then, his classmate's mother gasped. Kuroko couldn't tell if it was from shock, but nevertheless, turned his attention towards her. She was looking at the glass lid of the coffin with wide eyes and a gaping mouth, then proceeded to faint. Thankfully, her son caught her in time before she hit the floor and he looked slightly panicked.

There were murmurs all around him.

"Is the lost too hard to deal with?"

"Maybe she was too nervous and tired to drink? Dehydration?"

"She must've seen a ghost!"

Before it became a ruckus, other relatives came to take her to a bed to rest and the son stood up from his earlier position. He walked closer to the altar to peer into the coffin, coloring his expression with shock as well. It was getting rather... strange. What was so shocking about the coffin? Why did he look so afraid?

"... Tou-san?" the son said under his breath, his expression mimicking his mother's before she fainted. "W-what?"

The coffin moved slightly and there were scratching noises from the coffin. Not long after, the glass shattered and a hand peeked out, before an entire body neatly dressed in a traditional black kimono with the right front crossed over the left, crawled out of the coffin and fell to the floor. The funeral guests were confused and some looked ecstatic that the man wasn't actually dead at all.

Kuroko watched on, his eyes narrowing and his palms sweaty. He was shaking a little and there were shivers down his spine. It looked and felt surreal. What was suspicious was how a family could claim that their husband and father was dead, but wasn't actually dead at all on the day of his funeral.

"Otou-san... you're alive..." Kaho was on the verge of tears to see her father alright and not to be cremated, until something terrible and horrific happened, right before their eyes.

The man stood up and swayed slightly before gaining balance. He looked at his son in the eye, gave a low guttural growl akin to a wild dog and limped closer with his hands raised. He opened his mouth and showed a set of teeth, which immediately sunk into his son's shoulder. After they were hooked into his son's flesh, he ripped it off and chewed, while the warm blood from his son gushed out and splattered onto the front row's guests. The supposedly dead man finished chewing and proceeded to feast on the rest of the flesh in front of him.

None of it was a dream.

Everyone screamed.

Kuroko ran.

.

.

Wherever he went, there were monsters everywhere, followed by shrieks of terror. He saw corpses being eaten, someone who was slicing his way through with a knife before he was put down by a group of said monsters, a girl running for her life as she quickly dialed numbers to call for help, a few dead people reviving into monsters that promptly began to hunt the living and everywhere was just general chaos.

It scared him deeply. Those monsters; were they zombies?

What the hell happened?

But at this point, Kuroko never felt so alone in his life as he ran for safety.


	2. Panic Panic Panic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My muse is screaming at me to write this. I hope that's a good thing. xD
> 
> To answer the question "does misdirection work on zombies?"; For clarification, Kuroko does have misdirection in this AU and it's sort of a 50/50 chance. But I'm not saying anything else. ;)
> 
> ALSO: I'm so sorry to my AO3 readers for posting this late. :( I forgot to upload it here after I did so at ffnet.

**Chapter 2: Panic Panic Panic  
**

.

.

He had never ran so hard in his entire life. Then again, for a guy who frequents the library like it's a second home, more than a sports court or a gym when not prompted, he was doing pretty damn well good, if he could say so himself.

"Someone help!"

"No- Agh-"

"Please-"

At every corner, in broad daylight, there was carnage accompanied by cries and the smell of blood. No one did a thing to help another, not even one horrified look when they saw stranger get chewed up on the ground, because they were too busy trying to save themselves from the clutches of the probable undead. It wasn't unexpected, but in the corner of his mind, he couldn't help the sudden rush of disappointment that surged out from its hiding spot and let it register in his head that by the end of the day, _absolutely no one cares if another dies_ , so as long as _they get to live_.

It would be hypocritical of him if he criticized them in his thoughts too, when he really knew how things might have gone done had he made a move to help them. He would either abandon them the second the danger looms too close to his private bubble or they would abandon him after being presented with a perfected opportunity to escape when they had a meat shield to distract the monsters' attentions. It was either him or them. There were no in-betweens, especially when he was as helpless as them. There was no point giving a hand to them, in a figurative and literal sense.

Kuroko was an honest kind of guy. He said whatever he really thought (as long as it wasn't too blatantly hurtful to the other party) and was blunt to a fault, as long as it was worded politely enough. It was also definitely true that he had a love for anything horror, be it literature or movies, especially thriller and survival types that made people piss in their pants and whimper pathetically, but he would never ever wish himself to face what the characters in that particular genre go through. If someone told him that the world would end one day on a Monday when he was attending a funeral of all things, he would've chuckled silently and made them feel like an utter idiot.

Besides, it wasn't like he was survivor material anyways. Look at all the milkshakes he drank on a daily basis and the hours he spent just staying in a secluded spot to read in peace.

But here it was, happening at this very moment. He wasn't going to pull a "we're all going to die" stunt and he accepted the very fact that the undead were popping out of nowhere, hunting the living as their next meal and turning some into one of them, with the probability of the world's end.

That didn't mean, however, that he wasn't scared at all.

He was _downright terrified_.

This was one of those fiction versus reality moments, comparing what's made up out of imagination or a half-assed general idea with what really happens. Gore in fiction and reality, as he can see right now, were two different things, not at all similar, except for the blood. The high school student often found amusement or was in awe when limbs tore and guts flew in a book or a movie, but he was sick to his very core when he saw the real deal.

When fictional characters, a "person" with a name, personality and history that a reader has gotten to know intimately in essence, dies in a horribly gruesome way, Kuroko would mourn for a bit and continue on with the next chapter. So, hey, a person in a book died. That didn't mean much to Kuroko at all. When seeing a character die, there would always be a deep down feeling of, "not real", thus there was never anything to feel guilty about, even if the reader wasn't the actual killer. In conclusion, that was that and they're just words, so they won't hurt you emotionally.

In real life, when someone dies, someone Kuroko didn't even know, not a shred of information and not even their name, dies just like that, in the same fashion, he can't help but feel awful and guilty. There's a possibility he could've done something, anything really, to help them. But no, he was too busy running and dare he say it, gawking at the change of scenery before him like a clueless buffoon.

The best thing you could do is something, and the worst thing you could do is nothing. He had never felt this particular sentence more right and relevant to the current situation at hand.

The least he could for himself is to focus on surviving and don't stop running until he reaches to the safety of his home, where he could barricade himself in and prepare for the worst, like a survivor's gear. He didn't know more than any of the surviving people hiding in the various parts of Tokyo right now, so it would be best if he went to his house, get a change of clothes since fighting in a suit would not help and switch on the television. Maybe there will be an emergency announcement about this situation and if the gigantic screen on one of the tall towers at the crossroads didn't show anything, he might as well wait at home for the hypothetical announcement. The others are humans like him, with perfectly working limbs and senses. They could help themselves more than he could for them. He wouldn't know what would become of them if he became too... desperate.

If he can't even save himself, he had no right to attempt to save others. Now wasn't exactly the time for a hero to appear and he didn't want to be a hero either because he couldn't even guarantee his own survival with a hundred percent positivity. Kuroko may know a thing or two about surviving zombies and an apocalypse combined thanks to movies, but he sure as hell didn't know what to-

As he ran, when he saw someone bash one of their heads with a baseball bat, Kuroko had an epiphany. He needed to survive and to survive was to kill a monster whenever one of them saw him as a meal. He couldn't get killed and turning into one of them was not in the list. If he _needed_ to survive, **wanted** to survive, he needed protection and that wouldn't be a house which would eventually be overrun by them and cause him to be cornered.

Survival in an area where all the dead went after any fresh meat, meant a weapon. A weapon which he could carry to have a better chance of surviving this apocalypse, whatever this was. Now wasn't really the time to question it, though.

He grimaced when the person responsible for his epiphany didn't turn around fast enough and was rewarded gruesomely with a bite out of his shoulder. Kuroko watched as the person, who might or might not be around his age, scream in pain and was overpowered by a mass of zombies that crept and crawled close to him as they reacted to the noise accordingly that alerted them of their next meal. Once another person screamed, the zombies scattered from the mostly eaten body and moved towards the source of the noise.

Oh. So they responded to noise. No wonder the people that were shouting and screaming and generally making loud noises were being eaten first in his line of vision, other than the ones who were bleeding badly and trying to outrun the zombies. Which meant that zombies hearing and a sense of smell and most probably sight too, if what he witnessed at his classmate's father's funeral was right.

 _Well, at least they left_ , thought Kuroko grimly. That way, he could get the bat and was somewhat armed. It was better than being empty handed, scared and lost. Kuroko was definitely afraid, only armed with a wooden sports equipment, his wit and sarcasm, yes, but it was a slight improvement in chances of surviving and he was obviously doing better than the rest, never mind the previous owner of his current weapon.

While high school boy didn't believe in anything supernatural, he did give a silent prayer that went along the lines of, "rest in peace and thanks" in his head for the half-eaten dead person that might later turn into a zombie. This nameless fellow was doing pretty good too, but he was a little careless and was too focused on killing until he forgot his self-preservation that led to his inevitable end. But he did at least make Kuroko give some thought into it and had a free weapon, which was why Kuroko would be eternally grateful to him even if he did, unfortunately, died in the process for the second bit.

The teal haired male stopped a gasp from coming out of his mouth when the body... dare he say it, _stirred.  
_

Yeah, he didn't really want to be here when it actually got up and about.

.

.

It was hard to tell what exactly was Kuroko doing. Maybe it was because of the fact that he was still wearing a formal suit and clutching a baseball bat tightly in his grasp, or maybe it was the current chaos that was confusing everyone. People screaming and dying left and right with zombies out of nowhere and now everywhere could do that to someone. Point is, he didn't know what he was doing either.

He was at the housing area due to having to attend a funeral and slowly made his way out, dodging zombies left and right and careful not to trip while not making a single sound. The area was quite big and at the start, he was, regrettably, near the end of the area that did not have a gate or any opening he could use to make his way out. What's also worse was that this was a private housing area, emphasis on the private, which meant that like most normal housing areas he knew and walked through, paths were closed off and there was no road that would lead to the outside except for the main gate, to ensure no robbers or any shady people entered.

But now? It only served as a huge disadvantage and a hindrance.

So, he had no choice but to go to the only gate that was available, which was how he entered in the first place. It isn't the hardest thing as it sounded simple enough but when you think about the fact that he could not do parkour and escape zombies via jumping roofs and also the fact that the wide paths was entirely infested with zombies... well, you can't help but think, "I'm screwed". Thankfully, in one way or another, Kuroko was somewhat an optimist and also had a sense of self-preservation. The odds for this plan to work was approximately 30/100 (mathematics applied in every situation), but the odds of him surviving in this area was even lower than that. In the end, the choice was obvious.

Kuroko knew what he had to do. It was either do or die.

Right now, Kuroko was resting in a house he broke into. Breaking into someone's house wasn't morally acceptable and something that Kuroko never thought he would do, but he had no choice in the matter and it wasn't like he could climb up trees and expected it to be safe either. He needed a place to take a break and find supplies to take and what better way to do so by breaking into someone's home?

He had even made sure that the house was currently uninhabited but was lived in. It was a little difficult in trying to enter from somewhere other than the available doors, but he made do by throwing his bat to smash the window and literally took a leap of fate into the house from the tree he was on that was near the window. Once he jumped and rolled in, he quickly went right back up to close the curtains. Kuroko did not want to bring any attention to himself, not especially after the loud smash he caused.

The good thing was that he didn't get any cuts from the broken glass pieces still attached to the wall. The closest thing he got to a cut was his blazer, which was ripped at the sleeve. Kuroko took his blazer off and discarded his tie as well, wondering why he was still wearing them. It didn't make sense, in any case, but he had better things to worry about.

First of all, he needed to pack things that were necessary for him to survive, like sustenance, clothes and of course, a survival knife which he left at home in his bedroom drawer. Which comes the problem of how he would go home now. He had everything there; his clothes, food and other useful stuff that he could take and he would at least be able to sort things out and be ready like how one would for a camping trip. It was true that he was doing good here for previously unprepared someone who was in a foreign area, but it didn't help because it was still making him nervous and slightly jittery.

But, he had hope and hope was a powerful thing. Kuroko got to work and rummaged through the drawers and cupboards, trying to find anything useful but to his dismay, there were only women's clothes and underwear in them, which he respectfully turned away for the latter and closed them before moving on to the next to open. It was depressing that he was like a creepy panty thief at the moment and he couldn't find anything, in that order. It also made him guilty that he broke into a woman's home, but he sucked it up and tried not to think about it.

After three drawers and a few cupboards, he moved on to the big closet, ignoring the dresses hung from the top, searching the bottom instead. There was also something very unsuitable for children's eyes, which he dutifully ignored to the best he could to prioritize his search, until he found a bag buried at the bottom of countless of expensive handbags and boxes of shoes.

It was a slightly dusty but new dull brown canvas school bag that was rectangular in shape. Its size was comparable to a school backpack and it made Kuroko question why this unknown female owner had it in this first place, who Kuroko had seen owned nothing but the finest and fanciest furniture and clothing, even the underwear ― no, he was not a pervert for accidentally seeing the underclothing of the opposite gender ― as he had since he broke into this particular house. It certainly was not elegant or feminine in any shape or form, but who was Kuroko to complain when he found a good bag to use?

Dusting off the bag and walking downstairs, bag worn and baseball bat in hand, he made a beeline to the refrigerator, hoping for some food he would be able to get.

.

.

There was no god, for there was no food in the refrigerator.

Well, actually, there was, but they could no be used for their primary purpose; to be eaten. There was nothing in the refrigerator except for sauces, the bread was moldy, as its expiry date dated to a month ago (obviously enough time for the rot to set in) and wrapped up vegetables which were also rotting away and there were only cobwebs in the cupboards. Other than that? Empty containers lined up the kitchen counter, along with empty glass bottles strewn all over, no doubt once a home for alcohol, which were all of no use to him. Thankfully, there was a small, cylindrical container of pain killers on the table, the kind you could get at the local pharmacy, which he took since pain killers sounded useful and he didn't know when he would need it.

But he should have expected that this place didn't have any food. After all, he did deduce that the owner was already gone temporarily, but he did not go further and wonder how long.

It's just his luck that this place had gone to hell, huh? On a funeral day, of all things and he somewhat rudely ditched his classmate because her dead dad came back to life and bit her brother. It made him wish that he had declined the invitation instead, so he would be at school and have better chances surviving instead of being stuck in a foreign neighborhood. Unfortunately, wishes weren't common like pebbles and magic wasn't real. Otherwise, he wouldn't have broken into a stranger's house and he would've teleported back home.

Kuroko sighed and slid down from where he was leaning to sit on the cold, marble floor.

He hoped the rest of Tokyo wasn't making it's way to hell, too, but if it was...

Once could only hope it was a slow descent, however painful it may be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A rather abrupt ending for the second chapter, but I kinda liked it. See you next chapter and please leave a review on your way out! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I'll keep this posted here for now. Does anyone want this to continue? I already have the general outline for it. xD


End file.
